Owner Todd Boehly criticized after CL-Aus

VBefore the first leg a week ago, Todd Boehly had his mouth full – not just about the “very good” lunch he said he had, but also about the prediction for the upcoming first leg in the quarter-finals of the soccer Champions League. The new owner of Chelsea predicted a 3-0 win for his side. It turned out differently. Real Madrid won 2-0 at their home Bernabéu Stadium and followed that up with another win of that magnitude at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. The Spaniards made it through to the semi-finals.

At the latest when Rodrygo in the 80th minute after his opening goal to make it 0:1 (58th) stood completely free in front of the Chelsea goal, stopped the ball and shot it over the line from a short distance, the still hoping supporters of the Londoners also had fed up with it and left the stadium in the Fulham district before the final whistle, so as not to have to be stuck in traffic after their club was eliminated. The difference between a favorite for the title in the premier class and a team that is currently difficult to describe as such was too clear.

Boehly has invested more than 600 million euros in transfer payments this season. There’s little to see of it – and that’s not just because interim coach Frank Lampard initially preferred home-grown Conor Gallagher in midfield in the decisive match against Real Madrid to Mykhaylo Mudryk, who was signed for 70 million euros. The unquestionably existing class of individual players flashed again and again. However, there is no apparent idea, let alone a plan, as to how this combination of expensive individual pieces will achieve joint, lasting success.

Rodrygo’s second goal is a no-brainer

More tension was quite possible on Tuesday evening. There were chances for Chelsea leadership. But some of them were miserably forgiven. N’Golo Kanté didn’t hit a volley properly in the penalty area (11′), Marc Cucurella failed when goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (45’+1) rushed out. Real Madrid showed how it could be better, twice taking advantage of the few opportunities that existed. After a mistake by Trevoh Chalobah on the touchline, Rodrygo charged alone towards goal and completed when he regained the ball at the end of the confusion. The 0:2 was just child’s play.

How the Brazilian was able to accept the ball in front of the goal in the six-yard box reflected Chelsea’s inferiority in this overall duel. Adding to the gaps in defense was an astonishing weakness at the finish that was evident in the first leg. The club played six games in April, the team only scored one goal. The end of the Champions League comes a shameful eleventh place in the Premier League table. With seven games to go, the places that entitle you to take part in the European Cup next season are realistically no longer attainable.

Boehly came into the dressing room in a 2-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, when the small south coast club showed the makers at Stamford Bridge that it doesn’t take huge sums of money to be successful at football. What exactly he did and said there, the statements differ. Lampard downplayed the American’s visit as completely normal. Former national player Gary Lineker, known for his pointed observations, wrote ironically: “I bet that helped.” Rather not, as the game on Tuesday evening showed.

Club legend Lampard, who was not very successful as a coach at Derby County, Chelsea and Everton and should bridge the time until the end of the season, talked about the inferiority to Real. “We played well for 60 minutes. Everything we wanted was there, only the goal was missing. That would have brought the fans and us into the game. It was a good performance for most of the game,” he said on Prime Video. “The club is in transition. That was clear to me when I started. But I’m ready to work in this phase.” After that, another coach will take over.

It will be extremely exciting to see how Chelsea FC fans react to the developments. They cheered their team on loudly until it was 0:1 in the hope that a goal might succeed. When it became clear that the duel was lost, many left. The frustration of some supporters had already been released against Brighton. He was primarily directed against Boehly, who at the beginning of his time in London had attracted attention with ideas such as an all-star game. Even the billionaire with the big mouth should have realized by now that money alone doesn’t score goals in football.